Why this endangered species from B.C. is featured on a U.S. postal stamp | 24CA News

The endangered Vancouver Island marmot is having a second.

The chubby little rodent was featured on the Netflix docuseries Island of the Sea Wolves earlier this yr. 

Now, it is on a U.S. postal stamp — one in all a brand new assortment that includes 20 endangered species. 

As its identify would counsel, the marmot is discovered solely on Vancouver Island. It’s puzzling, maybe, {that a} U.S. establishment would come with it in an American assortment. 

In a press release to CBC, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) says the Canadian creature was included as a result of it is one of many “world’s most endangered animals.”

“Its plight points to several key aspects of endangerment: It is affected by climate change, an abundance of predators, and by forestry practices within its small, isolated range,” the USPS mentioned.

“It has become a symbol for conservation, as the mascot of the Western Hockey League’s Victoria Royals, for example.”

According to the Marmot Recovery Foundation, predation by wolves, cougars and eagles accounted for 80 per cent of marmot mortality from 1995 to 2005, and a few imagine that panorama modifications because of logging and local weather change are affecting the connection between marmots and their predators. 

According to the province, there have been fewer than 30 marmots in 2003. Thanks to conservation efforts, greater than 200 had been counted in 2021. 

The picture for the stamp was taken by National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore, who’s on a mission to {photograph} each endangered species across the globe, ought to they develop into extinct. 

He mentioned the Vancouver Island marmot is a logo of hope. 

“If you set your mind to it, you can stop extinction and you can make the world a better place,” Sartore informed On The Island host Gregor Craigie.

When he first heard the Vancouver Island marmot was being featured on a U.S. stamp, Adam Taylor, govt director of the Marmot Recovery Foundation, mentioned he did not imagine it. 

“I just couldn’t understand why Vancouver Island marmot would be on a U.S. postal stamp,” he mentioned. 

But, he mentioned, he was glad to see it getting some worldwide consideration — and “hope” actually is the message with regards to these small creatures and their restoration. 

“I think the marmot story is an opportunity to provide a bit of hope that we can work to bring marmots back, and then that work that we’re doing applies to other species too,” he mentioned.

“There are things that are achievable and doable and we can save these species.”